Maunga Kākaramea (also known officially as Rainbow Mountain) is a high

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...

volcano located between

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

and

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

in the

North Island Volcanic Plateau The North Island Volcanic Plateau (often called the Central Plateau and occasionally the Waimarino Plateau) is a volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island of New Zealand with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. It contains t ...

of New Zealand. It has multiple steaming features and a picturesque crater lake reached by a short walk from the nearest road and has a nearby geothermal area.

Geography

Maunga Kākaramea (meaning mountain of coloured earth, sometimes called Maungakakaramea and also known in colloquial English as Mount Kakaramea - but do not confuse with

Kakaramea Kakaramea is a town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. State Highway 3 passes through it. Patea is about 6 km to the south-east, and Hāwera is about 20 km to the north-west. Marae The local Pariroa Marae is a traditional meeting groun ...

another mountain) is located at the western borders of the

Okataina Volcanic Centre Taupō Volcanic Zone Tourist attractions in the Bay of Plenty Region VEI-7 volcanoes {{main, Ōkataina Caldera ...

. To the north west is the still active

Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley The Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley is the hydrothermal system created on 10 June 1886 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera, on the North Island of New Zealand. It encompasses Lake Rotomahana, the site of the Pink and White Terraces, as wel ...

and closer to the south west the Maungakaramea hot springs. To the west across the Hakereteke stream (European settlement name Kerosene Creek) valley is the slightly higher peak of

Maungaongaonga Maungaongaonga is an high dacite volcano located between Rotorua and Taupō in the North Island Volcanic Plateau. The area of the mountain is a scenic reserve and some of its southern slopes are highly geothermally active. Geography Maungao ...

at .

Geology

Much of the ground has been altered by steam action, which is most marked on the southern slopes of the mountain, extending almost to the summit. The steam has created fumarole clays of decomposed rhyolite. The six craters on the mountain are likely of hydrothermal origin. There have been quite large hydrothermal eruptions from areas of the mountain and nearby. This erupted material overlie the 232 CE

Hatepe eruption The Hatepe eruption, named for the Hatepe Plinian pumice tephra layer, sometimes referred to as the Taupō eruption or Horomatangi Reef Unit Y eruption, is dated to 232 CE ± 10 and was Taupō Volcano's most recent major eruption. It is ...

pumice resulting in estimated eruption ages of about 1300 CE.

Sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

deposits and natural petroleum seeps occur in the area. The bare northern slopes are adjacent to the

Ngapouri-Rotomahana Fault The Ngapouri-Rotomahana Fault is a seismically and volcanically active area of the central North Island of New Zealand. Geology Coming from the south the Ngapouri-Rotomahana Fault can be interpreted as a splay of the Paeroa Fault beneath the s ...

which is a splay of the

Paeroa Fault The Paeroa Fault is a seismically active area in the Taupō District, Waikato Region of the central North Island of New Zealand. Geology North of Lake Taupō, volcanic ignimbrite at least thick, and called the Paeroa Ignimbrite (dated to 339 ...

at the eastern margin of the

Taupō Rift The Taupō Rift is the seismically active rift valley containing the Taupō Volcanic Zone, central North Island of New Zealand. Geology The Taupō Rift (Taupo Rift) is a intra-arc continental rift resulting from an oblique convergence in the H ...

of the

Taupō Volcanic Zone The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcano, volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand. It has been active for at least the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs n ...

. These slope's steam activity was much more marked following the last Tarawera eruption than at present. The hot water spring activity is all to the south of the fault line. Accordingly, just to the north we have an area that is displacing at a rate of 7.2 ± 0.4 mm/yr explaining the areas complex geology.

Tourism

Its emerald coloured crater lake is a short but steep walk for the fit from a car park off State Highway 5 and contrasts with ochre coloured cliffs. The flora is somewhat stunted both because of the continued geothermal activity but also as it is a regrowth area affected by the

1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera was a violent volcanic eruption that occurred in the early hours of 10 June 1886 at Mount Tarawera, near Rotorua on New Zealand's North Island. The eruption reached an estimated volcanic explosivity index (VE ...

. File:Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve 14.jpg, View of Maunga Kākaramea from Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve File:Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve 10.jpg, Coloured cliffs of Maunga Kākaramea File:Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve kz12.jpg, Close up of coloured cliffs of Maunga Kākaramea File:Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve 12.jpg, View of lake in Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve File:Rainbow Mountain Scenic Reserve kz4.jpg, Crater lake Maunga Kākaramea

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kakaramea Landforms of the Bay of Plenty Region Hot springs of New Zealand 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera Volcanoes of the Bay of Plenty Region Mountains of the Bay of Plenty Region Taupō Volcanic Zone Geothermal areas in New Zealand

Geography

Geology

Tourism

See also

References

External links